Iran poll loser in protest rally

Crowds chanted slogans backing Mr Mousavi Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has joined a huge rally against the result of last week's election, defying a government ban. AFP news agency reported Mr Mousavi told a crowd of thousands in Tehran he was ready to take part in a new poll. Mr Mousavi, making his first public appearance since Friday's election, says the results were rigged in favour of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Mr Ahmadinejad has dismissed the claims and says the vote was fair. The demonstrators gathered in central Tehran chanting pro-Mousavi slogans. And Mr Mousavi eventually appeared, addressing the crowd from the roof of his car. "The vote of the people is more important than Mousavi or any other person," he told his supporters. Before Mr Mousavi arrived, Reuters reported that his supporters had scuffled with stick-wielding men on motorcycles - apparently supporters of the president. Following two days of unrest, the interior ministry warned earlier on Monday that "any disrupter of public security would be dealt with according to the law". The renewed protests come after Mr Mousavi and fellow defeated candidate Mohsen Rezai filed official complaints against the election result with the Guardian Council - the country's powerful clerical group. State television reported that supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has upheld the election result, urged the Guardian Council to "precisely consider" the complaints. A spokesman for the 12-member council said they would meet Mr Mousavi and Mr Rezai on Tuesday. They are expected to decide on the complaints by next week.